PHYSICALIZATION
Spolin:
“The term ‘physicalization’ describes the means by which material is presented to the student on a physical, non-verbal level, as opposed to an intellectual or psychological approach. ‘Physicalization’ provides the student with a personal concrete experience (which he can grasp) on which his further development depends, and gives the teacher and student a working vocabulary necessary to an objective relationship.”
“Reality, as far as we know, can only be physical, in that it is received and communicated through the sensory equipment. The physical is the known, and through it we may find our way to the unknown, the intuitive, and perhaps beyond, to man’s spirit, itself.” Page 15-16
Understanding a prayer is best accomplished when the student is able to replicate the concrete human emotions which underlie the particular prayer. Through an in-class shared experience, the class is able to abstract and transfer itself toward the written prayer text. In the process, the individual words become alive and part of the organic interaction between the worshipper and the audience.
The Audience is GOD – The self in the universe